Learn Phoduit

3.3 Export Image

To share your finished image with other people, you must export it. The image that is exported is always the one connected to the Render node. To export your photo, make sure you have the correct image connected and then go to the File Menu at the top of the Main Window and left click “Export Image As…”. Here you select where you want to save your exported photo. You also choose which file format to use by selecting the appropriate file extension. Phoduit supports exporting to JPEG, PNG, and TIFF file formats.

File Format

File Extension(s)

Supports Alpha

Supports 16-bits per channel

Description

JPEG

.jpg, .jpeg

No

No

Lossy file format commonly used for sharing photographs on the web. File size changes drastically based on the Quality setting.

PNG

.png

Yes

Yes

Lossless file format commonly used for opening images with other applications. File size changes using the Compression setting at a cost of export time.

Lossless file format commonly used for printing. File size is very large. Use PNG instead unless you know you definitely need this file format.

Many other applications do not support TIFFs with alpha or do so incorrectly. Consider using PNG instead if you need alpha support.↩

After selecting where you want to save your photo and what format, you are given an opportunity to change file format specific settings. Left clicking the “Export” button when you are done will render your image at 100% zoom (unscaled, maximum quality) and then save it to your hard drive.

3.3.1 JPEG

Quality

A trade off between file size and image quality. A value higher than 90 is not noticeably better and a value lower than 75 usually looks terrible.

Optimize

Make the file a few percent smaller without sacrificing quality but exporting takes longer.

Progressive

Make it so supported applications can display the image at a lower quality while the file is still being downloaded. This is useful when opening the JPEG in a web browser on a computer with a slow internet connection.

3.3.2 PNG

Compression

A trade off between file size and export time. A value of 9 compresses as much as possible and a value of 0 doesn’t compress at all. We recommend leaving this at 9 because exporting doesn’t take much longer but the resulting file size is usually significantly smaller.

Whether to include the alpha channel or not. If your photo is fully opaque, you can safely set this to RGB for a smaller file size.

Bit Depth

The number of bits per channel to save. A larger bit depth makes the file size drastically larger. Unless you need the extra bits of detail for further processing or compositing with a 16-bit depth compatible application, you can safely set this to 8-bits.

3.3.3 TIFF

Compression

Compression algorithm used. Set this to “Deflate” or “None” for best compatibility with other applications.

Whether to include the alpha channel or not. Many other applications do not support TIFFs with alpha or do so incorrectly. Set this to RGB for best compatibility. If you need the alpha channel, consider exporting a PNG file instead.

Bit Depth

The number of bits per channel to save. A larger bit depth makes the file size drastically larger. Unless you need the extra bits of detail for further processing or compositing with a 16-bit depth compatible application, you can safely set this to 8-bits.

3.3.4 Color Profiles

All export file formats can optionally include color profile information. By selecting a color profile from the combo box, Phoduit will convert the image being exported to the color space described by that color profile and then embed that color profile into the exported file. You can select “None” to not perform any conversion and to not embed a color profile into the exported file. You can select “Embedded” to not perform any conversion and to embed the image’s current color profile into the exported file.

If you want to share your image on a website, you should select “sRGB built-in” for best compatibility.

If you want to change an image’s color space before exporting and not embed a color profile, change the color profile using the Color Profile node before exporting and then select “None” in the Color Profile field while exporting.